Montana leads nation in reported cases of salmonella outbreak, CDC says

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday said it posted a food safety alert reporting a multistate outbreak of 68 salmonella infections that may be due to cucumbers grown in Mexico, with 16 of those cases, the most in the nation, in Montana. In an email the CDC said the cases come from 19 states, that 18 people have been hospitalized and no one has died. “Epidemiologic and traceback information shows that cucumbers grown by Agrotato, S.

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in Sonora, Mexico, including recalled cucumbers from SunFed Produce, LLC, may be contaminated with Salmonella and may be making people sick," the CDC said. says salmonella is a common bacterial disease that affects the intestinal tract. Humans become infected most frequently through contaminated water or food.

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services was not immediately available for comment. Several students were sickened with salmonella in mid-November in Great Falls Public Schools, prompting the district to temporarily remove fresh fruits and vegetables and replace them with dried and canned fruits at schools. Arizona-based SunFed Produce on Nov.

27 recalled all sizes of whole fresh American cucumbers packaged in bulk cardboard containers for retail or food service, officials said. The CDC said people should throw away cucumbers if they do not know where they came from or return them to where they bought them. They also said people should look for a sticker that shows "SunFed Mexico" as the place where cucumbers were grown.

People who bought whole fresh American cucumbers Oct. 12-Nov. 26 and can't tell where they are from should throw them away.

People should wash items and surfaces that may have touched the recalled cucumbers. And they should call their health care provider if they suspect salmonella. The U.

S. Food and Drug Administration said it can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Most people infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps six hours to six days after being exposed to the bacteria.

The illness usually lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment. Children younger than 5, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe illness. In terms of neighboring states, Wyoming has reported two cases and South Dakota has reported four, the CDC said.

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